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Rare glimpse of an earworm in captivity... |
Earworm Basics
What is an earworm?
An earworm is a song, tune, or commercial jingle that gets “stuck” in one’s head, such that it seems to repeat itself involuntarily. Earworms are often described as “catchy” music that becomes annoying. An earworm is not actually heard, but rather rehearsed mentally.
Why do they occur?
The short, honest answer is: no one knows for certain. But there are some interesting, albeit speculative theories.
For example, initially Dr. Kellaris thought the answer could be found in certain properties of music that make some songs “catchy” or “sticky.” But research shows that although many earworms seem to share some common traits (e.g., simplicity, repetitiveness, incongruity with listeners’ expectations), virtually any song can become an earworm for some people. Additionally, some people are more prone to earworms than others. So the phenomenon may be an interaction of musical properties and individual traits, the result of musical properties alone.
According to Kellaris’ (2001) Theory of Cognitive Itch, certain properties of music may be analogous to biochemical agents, such as histamines, which cause in itch on the skin. Exposure to such music may cause a sort of “cognitive itch” in one’s mind. The only way to scratch a cognitive itch is to repeat the offending music mentally. But this only exacerbates the itch, trapping the hapless victim in an involuntary cycle of repeated itching and scratching.
Stuck songs may be like stuck thoughts – a temporary failure of our mental control system. In his theory of ironic processes, Psychologist Daniel Wegner points out that to suppress an undesired thought we must keep that thought we are suppressing in the back of our mind. So, to suppress our thinking about a song, we must remember what it is we are trying not to think about. Try hard not to think about “It’s a Small World After All.” Now what is it you’re trying not to think about? Aaaaaaagh!!!
Some people believe that earworms are a manifestation of one’s subconscious attempting to send a message, or perhaps even the voice of God “trying to tell us something.” Anecdotes about an atheist getting hymn tunes stuck in her head seem to lend credence to this explanation. However, the theory doesn’t explain why most of us get silly nonsense like “Doo-wah, doo-wah, doo-wah-ditty” stuck in our heads.
One survey respondent posed a theory based on an acoustical engineering concept: resonant frequencies. Just as a structure will vibrate sympathetically in concert with certain tones (“resonant frequencies”), certain songs may activate an analogous mechanism in the human body. At the time of this posting, no one has explored relationships between stuck songs and the body’s natural rhythms, such as pulse or respiration rates.
Earworm episodes may occur as a temporary failure of mental control / thought suppression. As the American psychologist Daniel Wegner pointed out, the harder we try not to think about a white bear, the more likely we are to think about it. Or, as one hapless earworm victim put it, “you can’t fight an earworm – that only makes it angrier!”
Yet another informal theory holds that earworms may keep our mental engines idling, such that we can make a faster start when circumstances compel us to think. As one survey respondent speculated, “Perhaps earworms are to the brain what chewing gum is to the jaws – just a way to stay busy.”
To complicate the picture even further – consider that earworms may not have a single cause. An earworm may be like a stomach ache, for which there are many different possible causes. For example, just as over-eating, excess acid, viral infection, spicy foods late at night, or emotional upset may cause the phenomenon people describe as a stomach ache, there may be many different causes of earworm episodes, such as stress, fatigue, over-exposure to music, hearing only half of a song before getting out of your car, or not being able to remember part of a song that surfaces in memory.
Dissecting an earworm
What are the properties of music that becomes stuck?
According to research conducted by University of Cincinnati professor James Kellaris, virtually any song can become an earworm. However, songs that are simple, repetitive, and contain some incongruity – an unexpected twist – are most likely to become stuck.
Theories about earworms
Initially Dr. Kellaris thought the answer could be found in certain properties of music that make some songs “catchy” or “sticky.” But research shows that although many earworms seem to share some common traits (e.g., simplicity, repetitiveness, incongruity with listeners’ expectations), virtually any song can become an earworm for some people. Additionally, some people are more prone to earworms than others. So the phenomenon may be an interaction of musical properties and individual traits, the result of musical properties alone.
According to Kellaris’ (2001) Theory of Cognitive Itch, certain properties of music may be analogous to biochemical agents, such as histamines, which cause in itch on the skin. Exposure to such music may cause a sort of “cognitive itch” in one’s mind. The only way to scratch a cognitive itch is to repeat the offending music mentally. But this only exacerbates the itch, trapping the hapless victim in an involuntary cycle of repeated itching and scratching.
Stuck songs may be like stuck thoughts – a temporary failure of our mental control system. In his theory of ironic processes, Psychologist Daniel Wegner points out that to suppress an undesired thought we must keep that thought we are suppressing in the back of our mind. So, to suppress our thinking about a song, we must remember what it is we are trying not to think about. Try hard not to think about “It’s a Small World After All.” Now what is it you’re trying not to think about? Aaaaaaagh!!!
Some people believe that earworms are a manifestation of one’s subconscious attempting to send a message, or perhaps even the voice of God “trying to tell us something.” Anecdotes about an atheist getting hymn tunes stuck in her head seem to lend credence to this explanation. However, the theory doesn’t explain why most of us get silly nonsense like “Doo-wah, doo-wah, doo-wah-ditty” stuck in our heads.
One survey respondent posed a theory based on an acoustical engineering concept: resonant frequencies. Just as a structure will vibrate sympathetically in concert with certain tones (“resonant frequencies”), certain songs may activate an analogous mechanism in the human body. At the time of this posting, no one has explored relationships between stuck songs and the body’s natural rhythms, such as pulse or respiration rates.
Earworm episodes may occur as a temporary failure of mental control / thought suppression. As the American psychologist Daniel Wegner pointed out, the harder we try not to think about a white bear, the more likely we are to think about it. Or, as one hapless earworm victim put it, “you can’t fight an earworm – that only makes it angrier!”
Yet another informal theory holds that earworms may keep our mental engines idling, such that we can make a faster start when circumstances compel us to think. As one survey respondent speculated, “Perhaps earworms are to the brain what chewing gum is to the jaws – just a way to stay busy.”
To complicate the picture even further – consider that earworms may not have a single cause. An earworm may be like a stomach ache, for which there are many different possible causes. For example, just as over-eating, excess acid, viral infection, spicy foods late at night, or emotional upset may cause the phenomenon people describe as a stomach ache, there may be many different causes of earworm episodes, such as stress, fatigue, over-exposure to music, hearing only half of a song before getting out of your car, or not being able to remember part of a song that surfaces in memory.
[Do you have a theory about earworms? Send it to us at Earworms@UC.edu ]
